Erie Canal

The Erie Canal is a canal in New York which connects the Great Lakes at Buffalo to the Hudson River at Albany and the Atlantic Ocean at New York City. The canal was first proposed in the 1780s and again in 1807, and the route was surveyed in 1808. Its construction began on 4 July 1817 at Rome, New York, and it was completed on 26 October 1825. The canal cut transport costs by 95% and ushered in New York City's 19th century political and cultural ascendancy, as it was given an incomparable advantage over all other American port cities. In 1855 alone, 33,000 commercial shipments took place. Since 1994, the canal has been mostly used by recreational watercraft.